GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

Increasingly, psychotherapists are recognizing that we cannot separate the mind and body in treatment, and that adopting a holistic perspective leads to more effective modes of psychotherapy. Exercise, proper nutrition, hypnosis and other relaxation techniques, EMDR and acupressure all support the notion that psychological disorders and their treatment involve a complex interaction between mind and body. Yet psychology has also seen its share of quackery and fads, and so it is also important to employ critical thinking, utilize treatments that have solid empirical support and make sure that practitioners are trained well and qualify to perform the modalities they employ.

This introductory level course consists of 6 podcasts and an extensive Resource section for further study. Section One provides an overview of integrated mental health by psychologist Rubin Naiman, PhD. Section Two describes a variety of integrated treatments for such conditions as depression, anxiety, insomnia, trauma, and maternal-infant attachment disorders. Podcasts by Bill O'Hanlon, MS, LMFT, David Feinstein, PhD, and Tony Madrid, PhD describe such modalities as EMDR, Ericksonian hypnotherapy and energy therapies. Section Three presents a podcast by researcher and scholar, prolific author and critique Scott Lilienfeld, PhD describing how to employ critical thinking in sorting out the differences between science and pseudoscience, why it is important to distinguish between the two, and how to tell which is which. Section Four presents an extensive list of resources for further study.

Disclaimer: This course is purely educational and does not intend to serve as a license (or permission) to mental health professionals to prescribe or practice any of the approaches discussed in this course unless they fall within the scope of practice of your profession. Check with your licensing board about the scope of practice of your profession to make sure you practice within that scope.

Educational Objectives:

This course will teach the participant to

Identify the principles and practices of integrated mental health.

Discuss non-medication alternatives to treating depression.

Describe the principles of Ericksonian hyponotherapy.

Discuss the principles of solution-focused therapy.

Compare and contrast science and pseudoscience.

Discuss the connections between poor maternal-infant bonding and physical and psychological disorders.